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Nigeria’s oil rig counts have risen to 46 from 31 as at January 2025. This increase according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) signals a vibrant Petroleum Industry.

Gbenga Komolafe, Commission Chief Executive, stated this during a 2-day media workshop in Abuja on Wednesday. According to him, the growth in rig counts showed that the country is making huge progress in harnessing its hydrocarbon resources.

This he said is in line with the Commission’s effort to boost oil production, and achieve its ambitious plan to increase Nigeria’s crude oil production by one million barrels per day within October 2024 to October 2026.

According to him, the NUPRC through the Project One Million Barrels initiative which was launched in October 2024, has scaled up Nigeria’s oil production from one million barrels per day, oscillating around 1.7 million barrels.

Komolafe revealed that about 300,000 barrels of oil per day has been achieved since the launch of the program.

“We took off at a time that the production was declining from one million barrels. Today, we are not where we are, but of course you know where we are. We are oscillating around 1.7 million barrels.

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“You all know that the rig count is a very key metric for measuring vibrancy and performance in the industry, because of course that is a key equipment on which we drill the oil. So the number of rig counts actually reveals the level of vibrancy, the activities in the industry.

“The re-count today is 46 and we are not stopping there. I’m proud to say that is a leap jump, very geometric, but we are moving higher, the signs are positive. The feedback in the industry, has been very encouraging,” he said.

According to the NUPRC boss, the commission is also fulfilling its mandate as enshrined in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

Recall that in 2023, President Bola Tinubu mandated the commission to drive growth in the upstream petroleum sector.

Komolafe explained that the potential of the sector has been limited over the years due to a number of limiting factors, including operators operating in silo.

“So as a regulator, mandated to do all things necessary to drive investment, we brought all of them together, and charged that we need to increase production by 1 million additional units per year.

“So that has yielded positive results, as at the time that program was launched, and now we observe a positive delta of about 300,000 barrels of oil per day,” he added.

Also speaking, Ala Opuene, Senior Manager, Wells & drilling service, NUPRC said that rig activity has grown steadily post Petroleum Industry Act. He added that the growth is driven by investors confidence and tighter regulatory oversight.

According to him, over $8billion have been expended by the rigs to drill appropriately 236 wellbores since 2022.

“The rigs are playing key roles in executing the 120 approved FDPs (2022-date) to unlock a prognosed 4.7BBO and 29.26 TCF of gas in place.

“The rig infrastructure does more than rock crushing, it unlocks value by enabling the extraction of oil and gas assets. Nigeria’s rig activity is rising steadily and strategically. Availability alone is not enough, the key is to deploy fit for purpose units,” he said.

Opuene speaking further, explained that of the 46 rigs, only 43 are driving current production, 7 rigs are warm stacked and 4 rigs, cold stacked. Also 4 rigs according to him are being transitioned to new wells.